Method of producing retainer-welt slipper socks



NOV. 24, 1953 M SPACK 2,659,911

METHOD OF PRODUCING RETAINER-WELT SLIPPER SOCKS Original Filed Nov. 17, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l manu.

INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

M. SPACK Nov. 24, 1953 METHOD OF' PRODUCING RETAINER-WELT SLIPPER SOCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 17, 1950 INVENTOR.-

M. SPACK Nov. 24, 1953 METHOD OF PRODUCING RETAINER-WELT SLIPPER SOCKS 5 Sheets-Sheet ZS Original Filed Nov. 17, 1950 FIC-3.9.

INVENTOR:

mice .acg

ATTORNEYS.

FIG.|2.

Patented Nov. 24, 1953 METHOD E RRQDIJCING RETAINER-MIELE, SLIPBERl SOCKS Maurice, Spack, Brookline, Massi,Y assigner to Gonnecticut' Footwear, Inc., Shelton, Conn., a

c orporationrot Connecticut O riginal application November 17; 1950, Serial No. 196,299; now-Patent No. 2,581'2'.?.8, dated January'8g-1952f; Divided' and this application December 29, 1951, Serial; No. 264,047

(Cl. 12e-14.2.)

2` Claims. 1'

My invention-` relates'. to a:` new: and improved. method of making' anarticle; offootwear-, namelya. anewvand improved' method ofmakingza slipper; socle comprisingh a combination sock; arrdl Welt.` and outer: sole. 'l-hescck exemplifiesl onertype; ofl leg covering used in the method, which may be replaced by'any'other type.. Optionallyr and preferalilyi` the sock; is knitted from cotton, Wool; rayon andi other material and? synthetic materials: or mixtures thereof., Thi-"s sock may be of any usual construction. so that it it soft and easily bendable.

The` slipper sock` is` claimed. in copending` applicatiom Seriali No.;` 196,299.3 filed November L7', 19.50,. now II'.. S.` Patent No 2,581,728,A granted January 8,. 19.51,` of which. thisl is: a' division.

It has heretofore been proposed to connect the. exposed face'. of the bottomv wall of the foot portion of a sock, to: an outer.' sole byV means of vulcanization.

According to the improved method; a. superior article is manufactured easily and' at. low cost.4

If the bottom. Wall of thev footi of a` sock` is merely vulcanized or otherwise fixed to an outerV sole, the. article. is neither safe nor comfortable, because. there` is` nothing: to` prevent the4 foot; of the: user from shifting over the.` edge of the` outer.- sole AccordingI to one feature. of my invention, I' cement awelt which.l is bent to angular shape, to theY upstanding or longitudinal Wall of `the sock and also to the. lateral bottom Wall. of the. foot of the! sock, while the sock is on a last. The sock` `is, preferably slightly stretched and under ten-` sion, on said last.A The. welt is thus bent to a shape which has a substantiallyA L-shaped crossseetion, s o that. said bent welt has a longitudinal portion anda lateral foot-portion and a rounded junction between said longitudinal portion andV foot-portion of the Welt. In` initially eementingi the welt in angular shape totheV sock, I 'rstl preferably apply adhesive,` only" to the longitudinal portion of the. welt, and I use an. adhesive of high viscosity and which; penetrates the; material of. the; sock only slightly, so that the sock is not:`

cemented by said adhesive to. the. last.. I then cement the longitudinal portion` of the Welt, to.- theleg; of the, sock before bending the welt..

I then apply adhesive to. the inner face of the foot-portion of4 the Welt, and also to the. exposed face ot the. bottom, wall of the foot orv the sock, while, the sock isi helda on` the. last. adhesive is selected, so; that. it; penetrates` the material of' the,A sock only` slightly?, thusz preventing the sock from. being cemented to. the last.

I their. bend; the i'ootfpoi'tion off the. Welt. lat-f erally irciwardiy,4 in order to. shape the welt into` angular-shape, and to. cement the foot-pore. tion. of the Welt to thef foot of the sock.. I their apply adhesive to the` exposed face. of the. inf. Wardly.y bent foot-portion of. the. Welt.`

4 I then apply the sole. under pressure. to. the` foot;-p-ortiorr of the: welt. and; also to. the. exposedL face of. the.- bottom wall ofi the. oot.; of, the: socle intermediate the inner edge ofv the foot-portion off the. Welt. When the outer sole: isfirmly united'. to the foot-portion of thewelt and to the bottom face of the footoithesoels intermediate the edgemi the foot-portion of they welt, the. sock is. re.-

moved from the. last. l

The angular welt thus; provides, av frame torv the foot of. the` user'. This; trame. has; a longitudinal part which preterablyf extends; to; the ton foot. of the user. and it. preferably has enough stinness; to. keep its, longitudinal portion: normally upstanding; The upstanding longitudinal portion of-` the trame is: preferably and optionally alined with the vertical edge-wall ofV the outer sole.V

@ther objects and features and advantages of invention are disclosed in. the annexed der scription and; drawings..

Figi 1- isr a, perspective view of a finished article made according to; one. embodiment of; my. inven tiorn In this. embodiment, Iiuse a` connecting Welt. of uniform thickness to connect the sock to. its. outer sole and to, provide. an upstanding resilient or bendable frame,

Fig. 2 is asection on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3; is ay perspective View which. shows: the applicationv off a layer of adhesive to the exposed face of" doubl'ed longitudinal portion of another' type of' Welt.

Fig. 5 isa perspective view which shows: the sock located on an inner last, and also. shows the ap plication of the longitudinal portion of' either type of Weltto. the sock, adjacent. the junction betweenthe-.leg and. the footof the sock. For convenience, the leg of the sock is shown in the vertical position.

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. showing how the lon continuouslyv around the junction between thefoot and the leg' Qt the Sock. This top, edge part finally forms the foot-portion of the Welt. This also shows the application ot adhesive 'to This frame is flexible, and resi-lienty the outer face of the bottom wall of the sock and also to the inner vertical face of the top edge-part of the welt.

Fig. 7 illustrates the inward bending of the top edge-part of the welt in order to provide an angular welt, and the application of adhesive to the outer face of said inwardly bent edge-part of the angular welt.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a similar sectional View of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an outersole.

Fig. 11 is a section on the line I I-I I of Fig. 10.

Fig. l2 is a diagrammatic end view which shows the final operation in making the combination article.

Fig. 2 shows an angular welt 3a which is of uniform thickness throughout. This welt 3a has a longitudinal or vertical part 36 and a lateral and inwardly bent horizontal ange or foot-part 3c. 'I'he inner face of the foot-portion 3c of said welt 3a is connected by a layer of adhesive 6 to the marginal edge-part of the bottom wall 4 of the foot of the sock, and the portion 36 is also connected by said adhesive to the respective part of the outer Wall of the foot of the sock.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the greatly preferred type of welt 3. This welt 3 consists of two layers of cloth or other material 5 and 5a, whose adjacent inner faces are connected by adhesive. These joined layers 5 and 5a are doubled to provide an inwardly bent and lateral edge-portion l-Ia which forms the longitudinal portion of the welt, so that the preferred welt 3 is of double thickness at its longitudinal edge-portion 'I-'Ia. As one example,

to which the invention is not limited, the welt 3ais made of woven cotton cloth which has a thickness of 0.06 inch or more and the layers 5 and 5a are made of cotton cloth, with a total thickness of 0.06 inch or more.

Fig. 3 .shows how the welt 3 is led longitudinally over and in contact with a power-driven roll 8, in the direction of arrow I0. The exposed face of the longitudinal or edge-portion 'I-Ia of welt 3 is thus led longitudinally under a nozzle 9, through which adhesive is owed to form a layer 6 of said adhesive upon the entireA lateral exposed face of the inwardly bent edge-portion 'I-Ia.

This adhesive layer 6 is preferably an aqueous dispersion of rubber or rubber substitute, such as latex, which has been concentrated and compounded so as to have high viscosity and low penetration in the material of the sock I. The rubber of said adhesive is optionally prevulcanized, or said adhesive is optionally provided with sufficient accelerator and vulcanizing agent so as to vulcanize the rubber when this adhesive is air dried at ordinary room temperature of 20 C.-25 C. After the layer of adhesive 6 has been applied, the welt 3 is applied immediately.

Fig. 5 shows the sock I located on a last L, which is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The sock I preferably stretched and under tension when it is on the last L. Said last L has a post 2 which projects from the leg of sock I, for convenient handling.

While the post 2 is fixed to a work-table the portion 'I-la of the welt 3 is applied to the foot of the sock as shown in Figs. 6 and 8 so that its adhesive layer 6 is applied to the outer longitudinal wall of the foot of sock I, and the edge of the doubled edge-part I-la of welt 3 is substantially at the level of the bottom wall 4 of sock I.

Preferably, no adhesive is applied directly to sock I.

If adhesive is applied directly to sock I, it pene- 4 trates sock I, thus filling its material and cementing the sock I to its last L. These results are very undesirable.

By using an adhesive of high viscosity and which has low penetration in the material of sock I, and by partially evaporating the water of said adhesive to give it enough body, and by using suitable low pressure, the welt 3 is cemented to the longitudinal wall of the foot of the sock, with only slight penetration of the adhesive layer 6 in the material of the sock. The sock thus remains easily removable from last L.

Fig. 6 and Fig. 8 show that when the longitudinal portion'of the welt 3 is joined initially to sock I, said welt 3 then has a projecting edge-portion M which extends above the bottom Wall 4 of the foot of the sock I. This edge-portion M provides the foot-portion of the welt.

As shown in Fig. 6, adhesive is applied to the inner face 5a of the upwardly projecting edgeportion M, and also to the exposed or outer face of the bottom wall 4 of the foot of the sock. This layer of adhesive I2 may be applied by spraying, with the use of a spray-nozzle I I, over the entire inner face 5a and over the entire outer face of wall 4.

The adhesive of layer I2 is preferably rubber cement which is made by dissolving or dispersing rubber in a volatile petroleum fraction. This layer I 2 has only slight penetration in the wall 4, so that it does not cement the sock to the last.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 9, the upwardly projecting edge-portion M is now bent inwardly to abut and be cemented to the marginal edgeportion of wall 4. The welt is thus given an angular shape of substantially L-shaped crosssection.

A layer of adhesive I4 is then applied to the entire outer or exposed face of the inwardly bent foot portion of the welt by means of nozzle I5. The adhesive I4 may be a rubber cement, of the same type as layer I 2.

The welt 3a is applied in the same way as the welt s.

Fig. 10 shows an outer sole I6 of sponge or foam rubber. This outer sole may be cut from a large strip or sheet of sponge rubber or foam rubber. As made commercially, a layer of sponge rubber has top and bottom skins which have various ller materials, such as mica, etc.v

These skins have poor adherence to adhesive. Hence it is desirable to rub the edge-portion I'I of the face of sole I6 which is to be applied and cemented to the sock and welt, as by means of an emery wheel or other abrading tool. This removes a very thin layer of the surface of the skin, in order to secure proper cementing. The entire strip or sheet of sponge rubber or foam rubber may be thus treated, before cutting out the respective sole I6. All the cementing operations disclosed herein are performed at room temperature of substantially 20-25 C.

The outer sole I6 is now assembled with the exposed face of the foot-portion of the welt, and with the exposed face of the wall 4 which is intermediate the inner edge of the foot-portion of the welt. The assembly is made and held under pressure until the entire inner face of the outer sole I6 is firmly cemented to the adjacent faces of the foot-portion of the welt and of wall 4.

The stitches 20 provide additional connection between the upstanding part of the welt and the upstanding wall of the foot of the sock.

12 shows conventional means for holding I the assembled sock, angular welt and outer sole under pressure, while the sock is on its last, The hollow form l1 can be inflated so as to exert upward pressure, by means of compressed air which enters the hollow form through valve-controlled inlet-pipe I8. The last is held against upward movement by a stop I9, which optionally may be urged downwardly.

In the nished article shown in Figs. 1, 2r and 12, the upstanding portion of the angular Welt has sufficient stiffness to remain normally in the vertical position, in order to provide an upstanding frame which extends around the sock, upwardly from the edge of the outer sole I6. This frame is of suitable height, as 0.5 inch, to provide a frame for the foot of the user. This frame is bendable and resilient although it has the required stiffness. The construction of welt 3 is preferred, because its upstanding frame wall is of double thickness, with resultant greater strength and resilience.

I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, but numerous changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be made without departing from its scope.

I claim:

1. In a method of making a slipper sock from a. sock, a sponge rubber outer sole and a bendable welt strip, the steps which comprise locating a sock on a last, providing a welt having adhesive on one marginal portion only of said welt, the other marginal portion of said welt being free of adhesive, aixing the adhesive-bearing portion only of said welt, and the adhesive thereon, to the side portion of the foot of said sock around the entire periphery thereof, applying adhesive by spraying to the inner face of said other portion of said welt and simultaneously to the outer face of the bottom wall of said foot of the sock, bending said other portion of the welt inwardly to contact said outer face of the bottom wall of said foot of the sock, applying adhesive to the outer face of said inwardly bent portion, and adhering an outer sole to said bent portion of said welt.

2. The method of manufacturing a slipper sock from a sock, outsole and retainer welt, comprising placing a sock on a last, providing a retainer Welt having adhesive on one marginal portion only `of said retainer welt, affixing said portion to the side portion of the sock entirely around said sock, the remainder of said retainer welt comprising a marginal portion extending beyond the sole portion of said sock, spraying the inner face of said edge portion of said retainer welt with adhesive and simultaneously spraying the sole of said sock with said adhesive while facing said sole of said sock upwardly, bending said edge portion and aiiixing it to the sole of the sock, and

affixing an outsole to said bent over edge portion I of said retainer welt.

MAURICE SPACK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,618,809 Byron Feb. 22, 1927 1,809,364 Tweedie June 9, 1931 1,990,803 Thompson Feb. 12, 1935 2,147,197 Glidden Feb. 14, 1939 2,427,179 Ayers Sept. A9. 1947 2,538,673 Donahue Jan. 16, 1951 

